iPhone 5 deconstructed: packed with power-efficient parts

Repair and reuse experts iFixit flew to Australia to get one of the first available iPhone 5s, and then immediately tore it to pieces. iFixit's usual thorough analysis reveals that nearly every hardware component has been upgraded or improved, yet is so power efficient that the battery capacity largely remains the same. The updated unibody-style construction of the case also means that it's relatively easy to remove and replace the front LCD touchscreen panel—a common iPhone repair, according to iFixit.

Unlike the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, which was disassembled from back to front, getting at the iPhone 5's guts involved removing the front panel first. This is reminiscent of the iPhone 3G and 3GS, according to iFixit, and makes replacing a cracked screen relatively quick and easy. "Good news for all the phone droppers out there," iFixit's Miroslav Djuric said in a statement. "Compare to the iPhone 4S, where it took 38 steps to isolate the display assembly."

Once inside, the new battery is obvious. As we suspected, the battery is taller and flatter than in previous iPhone models. It also has a slightly higher capacity at 5.45Whr, compared to 5.3Whr with the iPhone 4S.

Despite the tiny increase in overall power capacity, the iPhone 5 still contains improved internals. The A6 processor promises twice the compute and graphics performance, the Qualcomm MDM9615 baseband delivers LTE compatibility, updated WiFi works on faster 5GHz channels, and improved TI and Broadcom chips power the larger 4" touchscreen's multitouch input. Despite the more-powerful internals, the iPhone 5 is rated for essentially the same amount of talk and standby time as the iPhone 4S.

The power efficiency is due in large part to the move to smaller process nodes for some of the important chips. The A6 processor is built on a 32nm high K process by Samsung, while the Qualcomm baseband is etched using a 28nm process by TSMC. Other power improvements derive from the A6's custom ARM core design as well as targeted power management in iOS 6.

Enlarge/ The front panel is the first component to come off the iPhone 5 (left), making it easy to repair cracked screens or broken home buttons. The new A6 processor (right) offers double the performance for the same amount of power use.

Other notable improvements include an integrated metal support bracket for the iPhone 5's home button. Many of us in the Ars Orbiting HQ have suffered from a deteriorating home button on the iPhone 4 and 4S, which tends to fail after about a year or so. This redesign hopefully will add some durability. If not, it's an easy fix, according to iFixit

iFixit noted that the sapphire crystal cover that Apple added to the iPhone 5 camera lens couldn't be scratched by a pair of steel needle nose pliers. But the "slate" anodized coating on the black iPhone model may show signs of wear after extended use.

"We found that the side is pretty tough, but the chamfered edge can be susceptible to scuffing—making for a shiny streak on the side," Djuric said. "Moral of this story: be careful, or get a case. Or be free like the wind and just don't care."

Overall, the iPhone 5's revised construction—despite some tricky and compact components—earned it a 7/10 "repairability" score from iFixit. "The further we delved, the more excited we got—even though we had to remove two pentalobe screws to get inside. The oft-broken and hard to repair home button now sports an integrated metal support bracket that should reduce the chance of failure, and the battery comes out just as easily as in last year's model."

Sounds like it's well done. It's an interesting contrast to some of the previous products though.

Wonder if that was a design objective this time, or just happened to work out that way.

There were some advantages to the way the iPhone 4/4S was assembled, too. But clearly the front screen and home button are like the most common repairs. Seems plausible that Apple might have returned to a previous design pattern to facilitate those repairs. On the other hand, the change to using the unibody aluminum shell was likely necessary to achieve the weight and volume savings, which makes using the "screen off first" design necessary as well. Maybe a combination of those factors, or maybe just a convenient side effect of the unibody design.

The A6 processor is built on a 32nm high K process by Samsung, while the Qualcomm baseband is etched using a 28nm process by TSMC.

Chris, could you clarify a point for me? I thought the A6 was Apple-designed silicon that was similar, but distinct, from the Samsung Cortex-A15. Is Samsung still manufacturing the A6, based on Apple designs?

The A6 processor is built on a 32nm high K process by Samsung, while the Qualcomm baseband is etched using a 28nm process by TSMC.

Chris, could you clarify a point for me? I thought the A6 was Apple-designed silicon that was similar, but distinct, from the Samsung Cortex-A15. Is Samsung still manufacturing the A6, based on Apple designs?

That is pretty much what everyone assumes for the A6, custom ARM design—from the guesses I’ve read it’s somewhere above A9 and below A15—manufactured by Samsung (in Texas, I think?).

No one said it didn't have better internal hardware and a longer screen.

Actually, that was the claim, except for the bigger screen. It was pretty much expected to have worse battery life, and for it to have the same while achieving better performance is quite a surprise.

Well people who are saying nothing changed are a little ridiculous. There is clearly upgraded hardware, unless they're claiming Apple was BSing everyone at the keynote.

I know people were disappointed that not enough features were added to iOS, or things like NFC were missing, but I never heard anyone say iPhone 5 was the same as iPhone 4S.

I think the claim was to call it the iPhone 4ss as in 4s stretch. It is actually better than some people including myself expected but still feels like a evolution and not a revolution like the retina display on the 4 was. It is thin and light but longer but there is nothing in it that makes me go wow or think that the competition is lacking and will need to catch up to.

I do feel that the biggest disappointment though is iOS 6 which feels like 5.5 at best and is overall a good OS but more than a little boring and still missing a lot of useful features.

I think the claim was to call it the iPhone 4ss as in 4s stretch. It is actually better than some people including myself expected but still feels like a evolution and not a revolution like the retina display on the 4 was. It is thin and light but longer but there is nothing in it that makes me go wow or think that the competition is lacking and will need to catch up to.

I do feel that the biggest disappointment though is iOS 6 which feels like 5.5 at best and is overall a good OS but more than a little boring and still missing a lot of useful features.

Right. The hardware is definitely a lot better, and Apple spent a lot of time explaining that. In the last few years, though, it seems hardware specs aren't very useful as a measuring stick, especially when comparing different OSes and platforms. It seems like the iPhone 5 is big on hardware specs, but iOS 6 is a bit of a sidegrade, and downgrade in some ways (maps, for example.) The newer hardware will make things snappier, but you hardly ever have to wait for anything on a smartphone that isn't related to a slow connection anyway.

I do feel that the biggest disappointment though is iOS 6 which feels like 5.5 at best and is overall a good OS but more than a little boring and still missing a lot of useful features.

Could be worse, if you were using Android it's only Jelly Bean that finally seems to be worthy of "1.0" status - all the earlier versions seem like a beta. I pity the 60% of Android users still stuck on the 2.x. I'm waiting for a CM version of JB, ICS is good, but I'd really like it to not stutter on animations anymore.

I know people were disappointed that not enough features were added to iOS, or things like NFC were missing, but I never heard anyone say iPhone 5 was the same as iPhone 4S.

A lot of it came out in the form of "nothing changed" when what they really meant was "nothing changed in a way that impressed me." The thing is that there are people so wedded to a pro-this-company or anti-that-one stance that any of the major tech players could announce the singularity and there'd be a wave of "oh come on, that was obvious!" and "they didn't invent anything, I saw it in a blog post eight years ago!"

Who's that comedian who's been pointing out what whiney, entitled consumers we've become as a society? Well anyway, he's right.

I know people were disappointed that not enough features were added to iOS, or things like NFC were missing, but I never heard anyone say iPhone 5 was the same as iPhone 4S.

There was some of that. The 5 uses the same design language and some people seemed disappointed it wasn't more different in appearance. There were also people focused on the lack of NFC and a still larger screen. Of course in those areas Apple was damned if they do and damned if they don't. If they don't do that there will be the claim they're falling behind and if they do, there will be claims they're just following the crowd. For NFC there's probably the realization that it's unlikely to hit critical mass in the US without Apple.

I know people were disappointed that not enough features were added to iOS, or things like NFC were missing, but I never heard anyone say iPhone 5 was the same as iPhone 4S.

A lot of it came out in the form of "nothing changed" when what they really meant was "nothing changed in a way that impressed me." The thing is that there are people so wedded to a pro-this-company or anti-that-one stance that any of the major tech players could announce the singularity and there'd be a wave of "oh come on, that was obvious!" and "they didn't invent anything, I saw it in a blog post eight years ago!"

Who's that comedian who's been pointing out what whiney, entitled consumers we've become as a society? Well anyway, he's right.

While I agree that most consumers are self-entitled whiners, sometimes they have a point. Interestingly enough, despite what they were whining about with iPhone 5, it still sold like hotcakes.

My favorite comments were ones like "Son of a bitch, Apple, what is this piece of crap? It's just a stretched 4S! Ughh.... I'm still preordering it anyway."

People just like to bitch, really.

I think the comedian you're referring to is probably Louis CK, who's hilarious, by the way.

Wonder if that was a design objective this time, or just happened to work out that way.

Product design almost never just "happens to work out that way". It’s Apple’s most important product, I’m pretty confident all aspects were given a lot of thought.

I'd agree with this.

Apple must repair a significant number of iPhones themselves (under warranty) and perhaps chose to make their own jobs easier - and therefore cheaper. Maybe their own repair people complained a lot after the 4 was introduced?

That this makes it easier for 3rd party repairs to be carried out is a nice benefit, but unlikely to be their prime motive.

When the home button on my 4 started to go recently, I Googled the repair procedure and could not believe how complicated it was!

But maybe there was a manufacturing benefit for Apple also? Whatever the reason we can be pretty sure it was deliberate, and didn't just happen to work out that way.

For NFC there's probably the realization that it's unlikely to hit critical mass in the US without Apple.

The thing is, any wireless mobile payment system that would work with NFC could also work with the low energy spec in Bluetooth 4. Adding BLE hardware to a payment terminal requires about 1" square of PCB, a $4 nRF8001 chip from Nordic Semi or a similarly priced CC2540 from TI and maybe $0.50 worth of passives. And that's quantity 1 pricing.

There's no technical barrier to wireless payments in the US, it's all down to every major player in the "value chain" trying to protect what they perceive as their own turf.

I do feel that the biggest disappointment though is iOS 6 which feels like 5.5 at best and is overall a good OS but more than a little boring and still missing a lot of useful features.

Could be worse, if you were using Android it's only Jelly Bean that finally seems to be worthy of "1.0" status - all the earlier versions seem like a beta. I pity the 60% of Android users still stuck on the 2.x. I'm waiting for a CM version of JB, ICS is good, but I'd really like it to not stutter on animations anymore.

I also pity those still stuck on iOS3 or 4. ICS and JB are good and every new update makes things better and snappier and doesn't make steps backward like changing to crappy maps. I am using Jedi Mind Trick and it is nice and snappy and it is only based off of ICS. Personally I think Android (and in some ways WP7.5) is now a better OS than iOS but I still love my iPad over an android table but I super happy with my Android phone that is better/comparable to the iPhone 5 was cheap to buy outright and only costs me $25 for unlimited voice and data including wifi tethering.

OFF-TOPIC Message to Ars: Not reporting on the Apple maps problems does not make the problem go away for your faithful Ars Apple fans. It only reflects badly on Ars as a science and gadgets reporting site.

Apple must repair a significant number of iPhones themselves (under warranty) and perhaps chose to make their own jobs easier - and therefore cheaper. Maybe their own repair people complained a lot after the 4 was introduced?

That’s one of Apple’s secret weapons, their stores provide an unprecedented level of feedback about failure points in their design (amongst other critical data), those data get incorporated in to the next design release. I don’t think any other manufacturer has that kind of insight in to how their devices fail in construction.

OFF-TOPIC Message to Ars: Not reporting on the Apple maps problems does not make the problem go away for your faithful Ars Apple fans. It only reflects badly on Ars as a science and gadgets reporting site.

The iPhone 4/4S and 5 all use the 802.11n protocol. 5 GHz is not inherently "faster" than 2.4 GHz (although if the wider channels available on 5 GHz are used that will increase throughput). One major advantage that often makes 5 GHz perform better is that there is less crowding and interference - which may be less true if Apple sells 5 gazillion iPhone 5s the first two weeks it's out.

I still love my iPad over an android table but I super happy with my Android phone that is better/comparable to the iPhone 5

You held an used the iPhone 5 for some time already? Or how do you know?

A 4" screen is too small, that's how I know and I like Android on the phone better. Also I got my phone for $200 no contract and pay $25/month for it unlimited voice and data. As far a speed, weight, battery and camera they are comparable with an incomparable price so for me together my phone is better.

Could be worse, if you were using Android it's only Jelly Bean that finally seems to be worthy of "1.0" status - all the earlier versions seem like a beta. I pity the 60% of Android users still stuck on the 2.x. I'm waiting for a CM version of JB, ICS is good, but I'd really like it to not stutter on animations anymore.

What you fail to realize is that Android 2.x is "good enough" for most people. As evidenced by the fact that it's sold hundreds of millions of units. It's open, it's cheap, and it works. They don't need 60 fps like hardcore gamers or anything.

2.x will continue to make up a large share of the installed base until at least 2014, and it will continue to be supported by developers. As well it should.

OFF-TOPIC Message to Ars: Not reporting on the Apple maps problems does not make the problem go away for your faithful Ars Apple fans. It only reflects badly on Ars as a science and gadgets reporting site.

Apparently you didn't bother to read the iOS6 article wherein problems with the maps application were noted.

OFF-TOPIC Message to Ars: Not reporting on the Apple maps problems does not make the problem go away for your faithful Ars Apple fans. It only reflects badly on Ars as a science and gadgets reporting site.

Apparently you didn't bother to read the iOS6 article wherein problems with the maps application were noted.

OFF-TOPIC Message to Ars: Not reporting on the Apple maps problems does not make the problem go away for your faithful Ars Apple fans. It only reflects badly on Ars as a science and gadgets reporting site.

Apparently you didn't bother to read the iOS6 article wherein problems with the maps application were noted.

i can only guess that the mind set is something like revenge on apple for making a phone people like.he wants to read the same article again for reaffirm whatever phone he picked, was the "right" one.

If Google/ASUS put voice capabilities in a Nexus 7 Tablet, then it will probably be the best phone out there. Android 4.1 and a 7" screen? Can't beat that. Unless maybe Nokia/MSFT make a Surface Phone that is even bigger than 7".